In the context of security and crime detection, it is known that an occupied structure often deters intruders from attempting to enter the property or structure. With the exception of scenarios wherein the intruder's primary purpose is to do physical harm to the occupant, an intruder's desire to avoid detection often motivates him to choose vacant or unoccupied properties. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to keep a building occupied. Therefore, in those situations, it is desirable to give the illusion of occupancy to deter criminal activity.
One possible method of providing the illusion of occupancy is to employ a plug-in light timer. These devices use a mechanical or electrical timing mechanism to selectively energize and de-energize an integral switched receptacle. Therefore, a plug-in lamp may be turned on or off at selected times of the day or night. While this provides an improvement over the absence of any attempts to simulate occupancy, activating the light at fixed times allows an observer to decipher the pattern of operation and reveal the ruse. This device is also limited, in that it is rather difficult to simulate occupancy during daylight hours (inasmuch as it will be difficult for an outdoor observer to discern lights turning off or on when contrasted with daytime sun). Lastly, while hard-wired timers are available to replace wall switches (to control correspondingly hard-wired overhead lighting), they may require the aid of an electrician during installation (and they are quasi-permanent).
Another way of providing the illusion of occupancy is to use a television simulator device. Such devices are essentially panels of inexpensive colored Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) which are adjusted by the unit to project blurred colored images on interior walls of a structure. This is intended to mimic the reflection of actual television images that would be visible to an observer situated outside of the building. These types of devices suffer from some of the same deficiencies noted above (difficult to perceive from outside during daylight sun, must be either left on continuously or cycled with a predictable timer, etc.).
Conversely, there are situations wherein the illusion of occupancy is desirable to attract the attention of aggressors. In an urban combat environment it may be desirable to create a tactical diversion for the purpose of drawing enemy fire or resources away from friendly forces. In those scenarios, it is desirable to give the illusion that a particular portion of a building is occupied though friendly forces are actually massed in an alternate location. Enemy attention and munitions will be wasted against the fictitious target, and friendly forces may safely egress, gather additional target indicators, or engage forces preoccupied with the diversion. In addition to the reasons noted above, existing technologies fail to function effectively because of the additional complexities and austerity of the combat environment. Electrical power may not be available in some structures, the device must be able to adapt to a variety of configurations and scenarios, and the device must have simple yet rugged controls.
Therefore, an apparatus and method for providing a realistic illusion of a human presence is needed for civilian and military environments.